Fatigue Testing of Metallurgically-Bonded EBR-II Superheater Tubes

Fatigue crack growth tests were performed on 2¼Cr-1Mo steel specimens machined from ex-service Experimental Breeder Reactor – II (EBR-II) superheater duplex tubes. The tubes had been metallurgically bonded with a 100 µm thick Ni interlayer; the specimens incorporated this bond layer. Tests were performed at room temperature in air and at 400°C in air and humid Ar; cracks were grown at varied levels of constant ?K. Crack growth tests at a range of ?K were also performed on specimens machined from the shell of the superheater. In all conditions the presence of the Ni interlayer was found to result in a net retardation of growth as the crack passed through the interlayer. The mechanism of retardation was identified as a disruption of crack planarity and uniformity after passing through the porous interlayer. Full crack arrest was only observed in a single test performed at near-threshold ?K level (12 MPa?m) at 400°C. In this case the crack tip was blunted by oxidation of the base steel at the steel-interlayer interface

Coating Microstructure-Property-Performance Issues

Results of studies on the relationships between spray parameters and performance of thermally-sprayed intermetallic coatings for high-temperature oxidation and corrosion resistance are presented. Coating performance is being assessed by corrosion testing of free-standing coatings, thermal cycling of coating substrates, and coating ductility measurement. Coating corrosion resistance was measured in a simulated coal combustion gas environment (N2-CO-CO2-H2O-H2S) at temperatures from 500 to 800°C using thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA). TGA testing was also performed on a typical ferritic-martensitic steel, austenitic stainless steel, and a wrought Fe3Al-based alloy for direct comparison to coating behavior. FeAl and Fe3Al coatings showed corrosion rates slightly greater than that of wrought Fe3Al, but markedly lower than the steels at all temperatures. The corrosion rates of the coatings were relatively independent of temperature. Thermal cycling was performed on coated 316SS and nickel alloy 600 substrates from room temperature to 800°C to assess the relative effects of coating microstructure, residual stress, and thermal expansion mismatch on coating cracking by thermal fatigue. Measurement of coating ductility was made by acoustic emission monitoring of coated 316SS tensile specimens during loading

Procurement and Initial Characterization of Alloy 230 and CMS Alloy 617

Material for initial testing of alloy 230 and a controlled-chemistry variant of alloy 617 has been procured in the form of plates. ¾-inch thick alloy 230 plate was commercially procured from Haynes International, and 2-inch thick CCA 617, an existing controlled-chemistry variant of alloy 617, was obtained from Alstom Power through the ultra-supercritical fossil energy program. This report describes the procurement of these plates and their characteristics in terms of vendor-supplied chemistry and mechanical properties. Further detailed characterization tests are planned for this fiscal year, and this report will be updated in September 2006 to include the results of these tests

Microstructure and Properties of HVOF-Sprayed Ni-50Cr Coatings

Thermal spray coatings represent a potential cost-effective means of protecting structural components in advanced fossil energy systems. Previous work at the INL has focused on relationships between thermal spray processing conditions, structure, and properties in alumina- and silica-forming coatings, namely Fe3Al, FeAl, and Mo-Si-B alloys. This paper describes the preparation and characterization of chromia-forming Ni-50%Cr coatings, an alloy similar to the INCOCLAD 671 cladding, which has shown excellent performance in the Niles Plant service tests. The structure and properties of Ni-50Cr coatings are similar to other HVOF-sprayed metallic coatings: a typical lamellar microstructure is observed with essentially no porosity and little oxide. The microhardness and compressive residual stress both increase with increased spray particle velocity. Corrosion tests were performed on a variety of free-standing coatings (removed from the substrate, wrought Fe3Al alloy, and Grade 91 steel in a simulated coal combustion gas (N2-10%CO-5%CO2-2%H2O-0.12%H2S) and gas-slag environments (same gas, with iron sulfide powder in contact with the coating surface). The coatings tested included Fe3Al, FeAl, and Ni-50Cr alloys sprayed at different velocities. In these tests the iron aluminides in wrought and coating form showed the best performance, with Ni-50Cr coatings slightly worse; the Grade 91 steel was severely attacked

Joining Techniques for Ferritic ODS Alloys

This report presents results of research on advanced joining techniques for ferritic oxide-dispersion strengthened alloys MA956 and PM2000. The joining techniques studied were resistance pressure welding (also known as pressure forge welding), transient liquid phase bonding, and diffusion bonding. All techniques were shown to produce sound joints in fine-grained, unrecrystallized alloys. Post-bond heat treatment to produce a coarse-grained, recrystallized microstructure resulted in grain growth across the bondline for transient liquid phase and diffusion bonds, giving microstructures essentially identical to that of the parent alloy in the recrystallized condition. The effects of bond orientation, boron interlayer thickness, and bonding parameters are discussed for transient liquid phase and diffusion bonding. The report concludes with a brief discussion of ODS joining techniques and their applicability to GEN IV reactor systems